Hi everyone! I hope you all had a restful holiday weekend filled with family and more food than you care to recount. I have been off the grid up in beautiful snowy Vermont, and am enjoying thick wooly socks, angora sweaters, and spending time with my pup in front of the fire. I grew up on 40 acres in the mountains just outside the liberal and artistic city of Burlington, which I love to come back and visit. There are some fantastic, very curated boutiques I make a point to visit every time I'm in town, like Sweet Lady Jane and shoe maven heaven Stella. I am working on some really neat projects while I'm here, but am mostly glad to slow my personal pace and take some breathing room for a few days.

One of my favorite parts in coming home is talking style with my mother. Growing up, she taught me to make my own clothes, appreciate quality fabric, and understand the nuances of tailoring and fit. I attribute my love of princess seaming, fur, and Dior to her. While home, we mooned over one another's furs; I was rocking my $6 fox (swoon), and she was wearing her grandmother's (my great grandmother's) lamb A-line swing coat.

My great-grandfather was a wealthy real estate developer in Chicago in the 1920's and purchased the lamb for his wife shortly before he lost his money in the 1929 crash of the Great Depression. Instead of selling her furs, my great-grandmother worked to support herself and her daughter, eventually putting her through college. She never sold the piece and it has stayed in the family ever since. I'm so glad; that story is a perfect example of why I love vintage fashion. The story and heritage behind the piece, and the strength and tenacity of the woman who wore it make it all the more special.

Hilariously, we wore the furs out to dinner to a restaurant filled with true Vermonters; flannel, Carhartt jackets, and a clean pair of jeans means being dressed up, so you can imagine their reaction to our outerwear. I know fashion should be appropriate, but life is too short not to wear all of your favorite things at once!